When You Say Nothing at All
by Ialwaysshipthedoomedones
Summary: Carla meets someone that reminds her of the one person she longs to ignore.
1. Chapter 1

_Okay so this is an idea that won't leave me alone but I'm not sure if anyone will be interested?_

_It's basically centred around Carla meeting a young girl, and seeing a lot of herself in the girl. It would be about their relationship and them helping each other. It obviously won't be based just on Carter but they would be in it, and they would be together._

_Anyone interested? _


	2. Chapter 2

_*In_ _this story, Paul and Carla weren't married, but were together for a while, everything else happened according to the script. Just to make timings, ect, work :-) Please review!*_

A pair of black converse shoes made small steps along the cobbled streets. They were bettered, the sole clinging to the thin material by a bare thread. Duct tape had been wrapped tightly around both shoes, the only thing keeping them from falling apart completely.

Jessica looked up towards the street, wondering where she should head first. She pulled at her coat, hugging it tightly around her fragile body, a small shoulder bag held the only few possessions she owned. With such a quick getaway she hadn't had time to bring much else, and she couldn't risk going back.

She wasn't clear why she had arrived at Coronation Street. It hadn't been planned, she only knew one person from around here and she definitely didn't want to see _her_ again. Jessica doubted she would bump into her though, she suspected she would have moved on years ago. She never was someone that stuck around, Jessica had learned that the hard way. But when the name flashed up on the departures board, she hadn't been able to stop herself from buying a ticket and boarding the train, settling herself for the long journey ahead. Now here she was, outside somewhere named 'The Rovers Return'

She pushed open the doors, the warm air instantly flushing her cheeks. She wondered over to the bar, cautious of the looks she was receiving. "How can I help ya love?" A pretty brunette woman smiled from the other side of the counter, her hair tied up in a bun and her ears adorning large, hooped earrings. "Just a coke please" Jessica handed over the change, the last remaining money she had, and took a seat in an empty booth, relishing in the warmth.

She had been sitting in the pub for a while now, enjoying the gentle chatter of the people around her, when someone caught her attention. A raven haired woman walked up to the bar, holding a man's hand and laughing at something he said.

Jessica watched the couple for a while, she watched as the man looked across at his partner, the love he had for her obvious. She felt a stab of jealousy as she noticed the woman smile up at him, moving so she stood even closer to him. She didn't think that woman was capable of love, but obviously that only applied to her. She hadn't been good enough. She couldn't deny the fluttering in her stomach when the woman's face caught hers, a look of utter shock spread across her features.

"'Jess?" Carla whispered in disbelief, not moving an inch as she watched the young girl in front of her.


	3. Chapter 3

_'Old friend, why you so **shy?** It ain't like you to hold back or** hide** from the light'_

'I was just leaving- Sorry' Jessica fumbled around with her bag, pulling on her coat and quickly leaving the pub, her half empty drink still sitting in the table. It took Carla a few moments to register that the young brunette had now left. She threw Peter an apologetic smile before clambering out of the door after her.

"Jessica! Jess?" Carla chased after the young girl, noticing that she was showing no signs of stopping or slowing down.

''Please, just wait!"

"What like you waited for me you mean?"

Carla stood opposite Jess, not yet having the guts to look her in the eyes as she shuffled awkwardly on her feet. "You don't know what it was like Jess, I couldn't stay!"

"Yes, I do know what it was like. Or have you forgotten that? You weren't there when I needed you. You didn't even say goodbye Carla"

Carla flinched at the blunt use of her full name, used to hearing the shortened version usually said with affection flowing from the teenagers mouth.

"I was going to come back for you Jessy, I swear I was"

"Oh what happened? Did your new life get in the way hmm? I didn't fit into your big plans? Carla Connor, couldn't possibly have kid with her, bringing her down, getting in the way. What a way to ruin the hard faced bitch look, what an inconvenience!"

"I am not ya mum Jessica, You weren't my problem!" She hadn't meant to snap, but her emotions were overwhelming. Seeing the girl in front of her brought back painful memories of everything she had lost. But it also reminded her of just how far she had come since moving to the street.

Jessica had Liam's eyes, she was sure. The laws of both physics and logic disagreed with Carla but she swore whenever she looked into her eyes, she saw his looking back. It made her heart sink with a fierce pain so unlike the dull ache she felt constantly. She had learnt to live with that, even became thankful for it, as though it proved, if only to herself, that she wasn't the heartless woman people assumed her to be.

"No you're right, I wasn't your problem" Jessica fought back her tears as she looked at her in disgust

"Jessy, I didn't me-"

"That's the thing Carla, you did mean it didn't you" She looked her up and down, avoiding looking her in the eyes. "You always were a heartless cow"

Jessica turned away from the raven haired woman and carried on walking. She wasn't sure where she was going but she avoided looking back at all costs. She wouldn't let that woman she her break, not again. She eventually allowed herself to collapse against a nearby wall, letting the tears she had been fighting fall down her tired face.

A while later she pulled away from the wall and walked into another familiar face. Someone she hadn't seen in a very long time.

"Oi watch it!" The mouthy woman shouted, almost making Jess laugh out loud. She hadn't changed a bit.

"Jess?" The shock on her face was now entirely evident.

"Michelle!" Jessica threw her arms around the person she had once been so close to, they were practically strangers now. "I missed you so much 'Chelle''


	4. Chapter 4

Jess' eyes wonder around the flat, taking in the familiarness of it. She knew she had never been here yet she felt as though she knew it inside out. Michelle soon joined her on the sofa, handing her a warm mug of coffee. Neither of them spoke, but Michelle allowed her hand to fall into the younger girl's lap and rest on her leg, comforting her softly.

"So how have you been kid?"

"I've been all right. I coped"

Michelle could see right though her, she always had been able to. It broke her heart leaving her behind, and she knew it had torn Carla apart as well. They'd been close, the three of them. Formed a bond, helping each other fight their demons. Jess was much younger than Carla and Michelle, like a surrogate daughter or a sister. That's what she had been to Carla. A step daughter at least. But five years ago that had all fallen apart.

"She tried to come back for you y'know Jess" Michelle received no answer but the way Jess looked up at her told her all she needed. "She got herself this flat with Paul, and me and Liam shared a flat down the road. This is still Carla's flat actually, but I'm staying here now" Suddenly it clicked in Jessica's mind why everything was so familiar. The photos and the intriquite details seemed to scream at her now she had remembered. "You know what our Paul was like, he convinced her that you'd be better off there. With your Dad. He told her that if she went back for you again she might never get out" Tears formed in both their eyes as they remembered back to the days before it had all gotten so confusing.

"He made her think you'd be better off without her and she believed him"

"She never did believe me, did she?"

"No she did, she did love. She knew the moment you told her you were telling the truth but she was scared, terrified even. And it takes a lot to get Car in that state"

"How can she have believed me if she was willing to leave me behind? And you, you and Liam. You didn't once try and get in contact. I knew Paul never would but I didn't think you were that heartless"

"It wasn't like that, honest it wasn't"

"Was it worth it? Obviously not because I'm assuming Carla and Paul didn't last long. She looked pretty cosy with that bloke in the pub earlier"

"Paul's dead Jess. He died and so did Liam"

Jess couldn't believe what she was hearing. Liam and her had been close ever since Carla arrived in her life when she was only six. She played doting step mum and introduced a shy Jess to the Connors. He'd been like a brother to her, in more ways than Paul ever had. He seemed to resent her, jealous of her and Carla's friendship despite the fact he and Carla were merely companions at the time. Even as a kid Jess noticed the bond she had with the Connor trio. She'd come alive around them, filled with banter and a smile that really reached her eyes. She'd often wondered why she had been with her dad when Paul so clearly doted on her.

"When, how?"

"Just after we moved here" Michelle felt her heart shudder as she remembered hearing Paul had died and then months later her beloved Liam was gone to. "Paul got drunk and drove into the back of a lorry" She used her hand to wipe her tears, choking back her sobs.

"And Lee?"

"Liam was murdered" Jess took a sharp breath, shocked to the core by what she had heard, her tears flowed as freely as Michelle's did.

"He and Carla, they fell in love but she was in a relationship. Tony is name was. He found out and killed Liam then came back to try and finish Carla off as well"

Jessica scoffed, surprised by how she was suddenly able to show so much despise for a woman she had loved so dearly. "She gets around don't she"

"Don't Jess" The girls words brought back bitter memories for Michelle. Frank's face flashes in front of her eyes and anger bubbles away inside her. She knew Jess had a right to be angry, furious even. They had abandoned her to a monster. But 'Chelle was fiercely protective of her best friend and wouldn't stand around to let her get hurt again.

"It's her fault Liam's dead though innit. She probably drove Paul to is death 'n all"

Michelle went to speak but a voice from the doorway stopped her. "Don't Michelle, it's okay. She's only telling the truth in't she"

Carla's eyes met Jess' and she felt a flood of memories crash against her, as though they trapped her tired mind and she had no way of stopping them.


End file.
